The Imposter and His Spending

President Obama’s troubling mantra: In debt, we trust
President Obama’s troubling mantra: In debt, we trust

By Richard Henry Lee

Saturday, May 2nd 2009

It is no surprise that President Obama supports unprecedented spending and borrowing in the federal budget since he has never suffered any consequences from the excessive spending and borrowing in his private life.

And I’m not just talking about the First Lady’s $540 sneakers.

A close examination of their finances shows that the Obamas were living off lines of credit along with other income for several years until 2005, when Obama’s book royalties came through and Michelle received her 260% pay raise at the University of Chicago. This was also the year Obama started serving in the U.S. Senate.

During the presidential primary campaign, Michelle Obama complained how tough it was to make ends meet. During a stop in Ohio, she said, "I know we’re spending - I added it up for the first time - we spend between the two kids, on extracurriculars outside the classroom, we’re spending about $10,000 a year on piano and dance and sports supplements and so on and so forth."

Let’s examine how tough things were for this couple using various public records.

In April 1999, they purchased a Chicago condo and obtained a mortgage for $159,250. In May 1999, they took out a line of credit for $20,750. Then, in 2002, they refinanced the condo with a $210,000 mortgage, which means they took out about $50,000 in equity. Finally, in 2004, they took out another line of credit for $100,000 on top of the mortgage.

Tax returns for 2004 reveal $14,395 in mortgage deductions. If we assume an effective interest rate of 6%, then they owed about $240,000 on a home they purchased for about $159,250.

This means they spent perhaps $80,000 beyond their income from 1999 to 2004.

The Obamas’ adjusted gross income averaged $257,000 from 2000 to 2004. This is above the threshold of $250,000 which Obama initially used as the definition of being "rich" for taxation purposes during last year’s election campaign.

The Obama family apparently had little or no savings during this period since there was virtually no taxable interest shown on their tax returns.

In 2003, they reported almost $24,000 in child care expenses and, in 2004, about $23,000. They also paid about $3,400 in household employment taxes each year. And as Michelle stated, they spent $10,000 a year on "extracurriculars" for the children.

These numbers clearly show the Obamas were living beyond their means and they might have suffered financially during the decline in housing prices had they relied on taking ever larger amounts of equity from their home to pay the bills.

But in 2005, Obama’s book sales soared and the royalties poured in. Michelle explained, "It was like Jack and his magic beans."

Without those magic beans, the Obama family would have eventually suffered the consequences of too much debt.

Obama’s penchant for borrowing in his private life carries over to his public life.

He gave the Congress virtually free rein in writing the huge stimulus bill. He had no reservations whatsoever about the country assuming so much debt. Other Presidents have tried to work out compromises on spending measures since it is ultimately the President who takes responsibility for the consequences.

Obama did make a feeble attempt to control spending when he announced that his cabinet had found ways to reduce federal spending by $100 million. But this is laughable. Compared to an estimated $3.6 trillion federal budget, it is a minuscule 0.0028%.

To put this into the context of the Obamas’ income for 2004 of $207,647, this savings works out to $5.77, or about the price of an arugula salad.

President Obama has never faced consequences in his private life when it comes to managing money. He always had enough money simply by borrowing more and more. And just when things got tight, those magic beans came along to save the day.

But as a nation, we cannot base our future on the hope that some day Jack and those magic beans will also save the rest of us.

Need I Say More

My favorite words are about to come true. It is 6 miles from my house and I drive by twice a day, I was so excited a couple of weeks ago I almost pee'd my pants.

Grocery Bags

Ok so I am not all into this green garbage but I did make grocery bags for Christmas presents mostly because they say the plastic bags will no longer be available soon. So here are some of my bags, someday when I have time I will post the pattern. I found the pattern on Joann's.com but I modified it to make it much easier to sew.

Is it Spring Yet?

The calendar says it is mid Spring but 45 at night and the heater still on say differently. Anyhoo here are pics from my yard. The bird is a rose breasted grosbeak and I have a pair, aren't they beautiful.

National Day of Prayer

Today is the National Day of Prayer. If you are like me you don't need a special day to pray but today millions of Americans will be praying for the return of the country we love. George W recognized the day, Bill Clinton did not. And it figures that the imposter is not recognizing it either. Just another reason I miss GW.

America is quickly being destroyed by the current administration and millions of people who claim to love this country (we know they don't). So today, please ask God to guide us through these next 4 years and help enough see that this is the wrong path. We need to put our country back on the path of morals, values, and ethics, a country of God fearing people who do not want to live in a Socialist/Communist country.

My Dodgers

Dodgers make MLB history with 13th straight home victory

The Dodgers Wednesday night won their 13th consecutive game at home to start the season, a 10-3 victory over the Nationals, to break the modern-day Major League record held by the Detroit Tigers at Bennett Park in 1911.

The Dodgers' 13-game winning streak at Dodger Stadium is the club's longest at any point in a season since a 13-game tear from May 4 - June 5, 1993.

I wish they played here but alas no and I very seldom get to catch a game on TV. OH well.

COngratulations Dodgers!